Transcribing a song into .abc files
This is a copy for safekeeping of the fantastic guide from Graynight found here: So, if you're like me, there's just something about doing it yourself that is rewarding. I mean, sure, anyone can just download an .abc file, stick it in their sheet music folder, and play to their hearts content. But where's the fun in that? And really, I've gone searching, and I can't find the music I want to hear. Because of that, I started writing my own ABC files. Now, I'm certain that someone with more experience will probably come along and correct me, but as I couldn't find anything on these forums about how to transcribe songs, I decided to make one. Consider this my "What I learned from trying to write and import into SOTA" tutorial. Lesson 1: What needs to be placed on top For purposes of this, I am using notepad. I am sure there are a lot of programs out there that will help (and I'll get into the one I use shortly), but notepad is quick, simple, and nearly everyone has it. Really, any type of txt program will work. * X:1 * T: * C: * Z: '' * ''Q: '' * ''L: * M: * K: * ' That is the top of your text. It should always be there. I think it's pretty self explanatory. To my knowledge the X can be any number you want. I use "1" simply because I copy/paste from one song to the other and write the info into it. Also note, don't add the < > Just write the information. Lesson 2: Notes and Language I am assuming everyone understands basic music. You have notes A-G, and they repeat. .abc files considers Middle C the starting point. * When you are going up or down an octave, that symbol is placed AFTER the letter, but before the note length * Sharps and Flats are placed BEFORE the letter _C ^F =G * Note length is placed at the END of the note...notation. C,,,,/ D'2 =F''3/4 * Stuff is case sensitive. C and c are different octaves. * you want to go higher or lower? Keep adding ,,,, and ' (For Bass clef notes, I have put in F,,,, before) Certain symbols/commands you find won't work in SotA (though they WILL work in other programs that use .abc files) Confused yet? Awesome. Lesson 3: Structure and putting it all together Ok, time to introduce an ABC program. I use a freebie download called EasyABC. It allows me to see the music in note form as I write it, as well as play it so I can be sure it sounds right. Honestly, I just downloaded the first freebie one I could find. EasyABC So, we download, open it up, and it looks like this. Well, actually, it's blank most times but I stuffed my information in it to begin with. You can see that nothing appears up top. That is where it will convert what you write on the bottom to music notes. Let's fill in some stuff. For this lesson, I'm going with the old fashioned "Greensleeves". Why? Public domain, (The song has been around a few hundred years) and you can pick it up from free sheet music sites (like 8notes.com) It's a great place to find stuff. Greensleeves (for those that want to follow along) You'll notice that it's writen in a master staff (Having treble and bass). While I have asked MANY people, the answer I get is ABC can't read both staffs. So if you want it to be solo, you need to alter it to fit it all in one staff. First things first. Let's fill out the information we know. * X:1 <-I've yet to discover any difference if I add a different number, so I go with 1 '' * ''T: Greensleeves <-The name of the song C: Traditional <-Lacking a proper "written by Bob". Although rumors state Henry VIII wrote it * Z: Graynight <-Me. I'm transcribing it, so I get to put my name here * N: For Accordion and Piano <-If you have specific instruments in mind. * Q:1/4=100 <- 100 quarter notes per minute is the tempo * L:1/4 <- Quarter note (1/4) is the standard note * M:3/4 <- Time signature. Three beats per bar, quarter note standard * K:C <- Key of C. No unintended Sharps or Flats. Everything is natural unless I say otherwise Back to the song. Let's do this one line at a time Isn't it pretty? It's got Mezzo Piano, and slurs and....yeah. Sota doesn't really care about bars, the little symbols and notes that you add in to make it look pretty. So you can toss "mezzo Piano (MP)" in all you want, and it will laugh at you while playing it unaltered. It doesn't recognize them. So if you want some fun fermatas or whatever, you'll have to do it manually. One other thing. I don't know how it works on your computers, but whenever I sit down to play something, half the time it will jump a bar ahead. Because of that, I usually stick a two beat rest in first. So here's the first bar of the song. * z2 A| Yup. That's the first bar. You don't have to have the space between the 2 and A; you'll see as I get going that I don't. I usually place spaces in to seperate eighth notes, but in essence, you can write it all without a single space. Same for lines down. I usually go one line of music to one line of code, and I try to place the bars (|) where they are in the music. That way if I need to find a bad note, I can go "Third line, second bar"; but Sota doesn't care. It's for your visual, not for playing. Back to the song. Here's the first line * z2 A|A,2c2d|A,3/2e3/2|f/e|G,2d2B|G,3/2G3/2A/B|F,2c2A|F3/2A3/2^G/A/| On easyABC, it looks like this You can see I combined the Treble and Bass Clefs together to make the song. While it doesn't have the full flavor of the Bass Cleff notes going through the whole bar, it still allows the notes to be played. ABC won't let you play one note as a whole while playing other notes. It's an all or nothing theory. So you can see, I had to alter. Keep in mind, the notes do ring on a for a bit, it's usually enough that people miss the note isn't being played all the way. Alright. So now that that's done, here's the whole song. * z2 A|A,2c2d|A,3/2e3/2|f/e|G,2d2B|G,3/2G3/2A/B|F,2c2A|F,3/2A3/2^G/A| * E,2B2^G|E,2E2A|A,2c2d|A,3/2e3/2f/e|G,2d2B|G,3/2G3/2A/B * F,3/2c3/2B/A|E,3/2^G3/2^F/^G|A,3A3|A,3A3|C3=g3|C3/2g3/2=f/e|G,2d2B|G,3/2G3/2A/B| * A,2c2A|A,3/2A3/2^G/A|E,2B2^G|E,3E3|C3g3|C3/2g3/2f/e| * G,2d2B|G,3/2G3/2A/B|F,3/2c3/2B/A|E,3/2^G3/2^F/^G|A,3A3|A,3A3|] You'll notice at the end I place a |] This says "Done" for the program. If you want the sound to last, extend the last note. Put it all together, and you get this happy little finished piece. * X:1 * T: Greensleeves * C: Traditional * Z: Graynight * N: For Accordion and Piano * Q:1/4=100 * L:1/4 * M:3/4 * K:C * z2 A|A,2c2d|A,3/2e3/2|f/e|G,2d2B|G,3/2G3/2A/B|F,2c2A|F,3/2A3/2^G/A| * E,2B2^G|E,2E2A|A,2c2d|A,3/2e3/2f/e|G,2d2B|G,3/2G3/2A/B * F,3/2c3/2B/A|E,3/2^G3/2^F/^G|A,3A3|A,3A3|C3=g3|C3/2g3/2=f/e|G,2d2B|G,3/2G3/2A/B| * A,2c2A|A,3/2A3/2^G/A|E,2B2^G|E,3E3|C3g3|C3/2g3/2f/e| * G,2d2B|G,3/2G3/2A/B|F,3/2c3/2B/A|E,3/2^G3/2^F/^G|A,3A3|A,3A3|] Copy this, paste it into your notepad or text whatever. Save it as "Greensleeves.abc" (make sure it's set to any files) and save it in the appropriate place. When you get in game, find an instrument and use the command /play Greensleeves ****I'd like to thank these two links for showing me most everything I learned. http://www.lesession.co.uk/abc/abc_notation.htm#k_field http://poorfox.com/hymns/How_to_Write_ABC.html